CULTURE

Public Enemy Was Done with Flavor Flav Long Before Bernie Sanders Drama

Keith Baldwin Keith Baldwin

02 Mar, 20

Public Enemy Was Done with Flavor Flav Long Before Bernie Sanders Drama

On Friday an attorney representing Flavor Flav sent a cease and desist letter to Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign.

The letter claimed that the campaign was using Flav’s “unauthorized likeness, image, and trademarked clock in promotional materials” to advertise an event that took place on Sunday. The event in question—a Sanders rally at the LA Convention Center—ended up drawing a crowd of more than 17,000 supporters who filled the arena to cheer on Sanders and see comedian Sarah Silverman, Hollywood legend Dick Van Dyke, and a performance by Chuck D’s Public Enemy Radio.

Public Enemy Radio is an offshoot of Public Enemy that includes Chuck D, Jahi, and DJ Lord, but not Flavor Flav. While many articles about the event claimed that Public Enemy would be performing—and even used images that featured Flavor Flav—Flav had not signed on. In his statement, Flav and his legal team asserted that the correct billing should have been “Chuck D of Public Enemy,” because “those who truly know what Public Enemy stands for know what time it is, there is no Public Enemy without Flavor Flav.” The letter also included a handwritten plea from Flav, saying, “Hey Bernie, don’t do this.”

Two days later, Chuck D announced that Public Enemy will officially be moving forward without Flavor Flav, and his lawyer responded to the legal threats with the statement, “Chuck could perform as Public Enemy if he ever wanted to; he is the sole owner of the Public Enemy trademark. He originally drew the logo himself in the mid-80s, is also the creative visionary and the group’s primary songwriter.” Flav, in other words, has been kicked out of the band.

This is just the latest chapter in a legal dispute between Flavor Flav and Chuck D. The two worked as collaborators for decades, but they’ve been at odds over finances since at least 2017. That was the year Flavor Flav sued Chuck D over supposedly unpaid profits from royalties, fees, and merchandising. Based on his instrumental role in the group, which included (according to Flav) having written more than 50 Public Enemy songs, Flav has claimed that he and Chuck D had a longstanding agreement to split those profits.

In a series of tweets, Chuck D expressed that this rift was a long time coming, saying “My last straw was long ago.” He credited their falling out to Flav’s unwillingness to “do benevolent work,” specifically citing the Many Rivers to Cross Festival in 2016, where Flav refused to perform. The show was put on by Harry Belafonte’s Sankofa, an organization created to “focus on issues of injustice that disproportionately affect the disenfranchised, the oppressed, and the underserved.” Chuck D has been heavily involved with the group’s work in recent years, but he claims that Flav would rather “dance for his money” than do a show for free.

In the past, when people have characterized Flavor Flav as nothing more than a goofy hype man and reality show clown, Chuck D has come to his defense, noting that Flav is a talented musician who can play 15 different instruments. In this case, however, Chuck D was not so eager to stand up for his old collaborator, saying he’d “definitely like to find those 50 songs he wrote.” Flav is only officially credited as writer on six of the groups’ songs, so it’s not exactly surprising that the 2017 suit was eventually thrown out. His 50 song claim definitely seems like an overreach, but it’s nothing compared to the overreach implied by the phrase “trademarked clock.” Does Flavor Flav own (or believe that he owns) the concept of clocks?

The most widespread promotional image for the Sanders event featured Bernie in outline under the slogan “Fight the Power,” with the words Public Enemy in oversized font that crushed the tiny addendum Radio into one corner. While there is no image of Flav or a clock involved, the image certainly suggested that all the members of Public Enemy would be participating. And now that Flavor Flav decided to make an issue of it, the members who participated are the only members left.

The group’s next album Loud is not Enough will be coming out in April.

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